Blitzen
by moonswirl
Summary: Gleekathon, day four hundred and twenty-eight:  reindeer 8/8  He found out, in his own time of need, just what it meant to be a leader.


_Started my daily ficlets to make the hiatus pass, then decided to keep going with a 2nd cycle, and then a 3rd, 4th, etc through 20th cycle. Now cycle 21! (I realized I didn't fix this line throughout the whole of cycle 20! *smacks forehead*)_

_So as I did it **last year (days 52 through 63)**, I wanted to do something Christmas-y, but not overly so. Last year I used the song of "**The Twelve Days of Christmas**", and this year I used... **Santa's Reindeers**! So the stories in and of themselves aren't Christmas-themed, just the title that inspired them is ;) You'll see :)_

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**"Blitzen"  
Finn **

It was after the madness that had happened that he found out there was another part to being seen as a leader. It wasn't anything they could have explained to him, but that was alright; the effect was so much stronger, having no idea what to expect.

He'd heard it all, over and over: 'they look up to you,' 'you're special,' 'you have to be there for them…' After a while, with so much already on him, the words just started to lose meaning… He didn't care. No… that wasn't… He did care, but in that instant he didn't want to… So maybe he could see why they saw that in him.

He'd been running and running, for months, because of that belief that he was going to be a father. But then he was told this wasn't the case. It was like he was supposed to stop short, before tripping this block, suddenly in his way. Except at that very moment he felt like one of those guys in the cartoons, realizing they were going to run right off a cliff. They wanted to stop, and their feet scrambled desperately to stop, but momentum refused them that luxury. So they'd finally stop… suspended in midair. Then their body would drop, stretching their neck like a roll of dough and holding for the comic factor, before the head would follow, and they'd plummet, leaving a puff of smoke when they hit the ground.

His fall lasted for a while, and in that time he had nothing to hang on to, in order to slow his descent; how could there be if he was falling? But he did try, which led him down some paths he might not have taken if his feet were firmly planted on the ground. His whole escapade with Brittany, and… Santana, that was… the earthbound trajectory, nothing to land on…

That was when he'd discovered it, the other half of his leader self… He found it when it came time for him to stop falling, to crash… because he didn't; he landed, no crash. He understood then that being a leader, someone they relied on, meant that he wasn't just supporting them, they were supporting him.

It wouldn't matter to anyone how good he was, he wouldn't be worth anything as a co-captain and figure, if he couldn't inspire that kind of spirit. They were a team, and they were all part of that equation. And he supposed he was part of it, because of how he was raised and how he saw the world: that he had to set an example, be someone his mother could be proud of… a hero.

He'd grown up with the image of a hero in his head… his father. He knew what his mother said, that he didn't know Christopher Hudson, the man, only his memory, passed on to him; that didn't matter. He knew things, enough to carry on what he could… bravery, heart… He took the memory of his father with him like a badge, a medal, telling him day after day that the things that scared him could be faced, should be faced… even if things weren't easy, he could make it through… he at the very least had to try. Sometimes he forgot…

So even after he'd found solid ground once again, he had to find the desire to lead just as he had. At Sectionals, he'd done it all, only with the knowledge that they were all in trouble, all their hard work was in jeopardy if someone didn't step in. His heart was still… so far from being mended; it hadn't even started. But he had found it in him to do what was needed, no matter what. In the long run, this would end up being important, later, after his landing.

Continuing to be there for them, to be a part of the, it had saved his heart from a much… much longer recovery. All he had to do was to be among them, to continue their journey. Maybe it would have been easier if Quinn and Puck weren't right there the whole time, reminding him of everything just by being there. But at the same time, being forced to co-exist with them, it did help him face reality, made him move on.

It was as though life was determined to keep his mind busy elsewhere for the next little while. He had Rachel, dating someone else… because he blew it when he had the chance. Then there was his mother, going off and changing things all around, the biggest of those changes being the start of her relationship with Burt Hummel. Of course, in the end, he would come to accept this new family, but it was all so much to take… All these people coming into his universe, changing the way he thought it was at such a rapid pace that he didn't have time to stop and adjust… Maybe that was in part why they'd ended up losing at Regionals; he didn't know.

What he did know, as one school year ended and summer began, was that the next year wouldn't be the same, which was to say… they had all had a crazy year, the whole club, not just him. And if he was as good of a leader as they made him out to be, then he'd make it his job to make sure they all had a good year, with a marked decrease in failures and disappointments. Whether or not this involved Regionals, Nationals, it was left to be seen, but that second year would be no less than spectacular.

THE END

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**A/N: This is a one-shot ficlet, which means that signing up for story alert will not bring you any alerts.  
****In the event of a sequel, the story will be separate from this one. And as chapter stories go, they are  
****always clearly indicated as such [ex: "Days 204-210" in the summary] Thank you!**


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